Lapus, Ampatuan sign MOA for school building program

DAVAO CITY – Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Jesli Lapus and Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) signed here a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the implementation of school building program and school furniture program for ARMM.

The MOA signing was done during the executive meeting of DepED and ARMM officials on June 22, 2009 at the Grand Regal Hotel here.

According to DepEd Undersecretary Ramon Bacani, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss and solve issues and problems affecting the implementation of the said infrastructure projects being undertaken by the Department.

The school building program being implemented by the DepED is referred to as the “red and black” school building program in recognition of the need for additional funding for areas with acute classroom shortages.

Bacani said the Department recognized that ARMM is one of the areas which have need of additional school buildings because of the increase in the student population as well as the need to replace classrooms damaged by internal conflict in the area. He emphasized the need for the immediate implementation of the projects as part of the pump-priming program of the national government as mandated by Malacanang to all government agencies implementing infrastructure projects.

He, however, stressed that certain conditions should be complied with that include procurement procedures which have been agreed upon in the loan agreement with the World Bank that funded the school building program of the national government.
For ARMM, a total of P185 million is allocated for fiscal year 2008 and another P101 million for the current fiscal year. For fiscal year 2007 with an allocation of P57.6 million, there are remaining projects to be implemented.

The MOA stipulates the manner of implementation of the school building program and school furniture program for ARMM.

During the meeting, Lapus lauded the efforts of Governor Ampatuan for his instruction that school building projects will be very tightly monitored and validated which, he said, will surely “Reverse the rightly or wrongly reputation that projects are not being implemented in ARMM.”

“I am looking forward to joining ARMM in declaring with Governor Ampatuan that our watch has broken records in physical infrastructure. And I hope it will set the trend for closer coordination and more efficient and effective delivery of services to our people,” he added.

For his part, Ampatuan assured the DepED officials of a transparent implementation of the school building program and school furniture program.

“I would like to assure the Secretary that for the 2007 projects, we will look into the problems very seriously and we will see to it that the projects will be implemented,” Ampatuan said in his message.

Earlier, Ampatuan proposed that school building program in the entire region will be implemented by the Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army “So that we can be assured of the proper implementation of the projects.” (bpi-armm)